New Petition Calls for Saving Land on Both Sides of the Mountain

by Jim Tolbert

Now ready for distribution and signatures is a new 2014 Initiative Petition. It reads:

     The undersigned ask that the El Paso City Council pass the following ordinance:

     The City of El Paso shall preserve, in its natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped   
     land owned by the City of El Paso (including that controlled and managed by the PSB) on the 
     western side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain, east of the EPNG 
     Pipeline Road and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary; and shall also preserve, in its  
     natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped land owned by the City of El Paso 
     (including that controlled and managed by the PSB) on the eastern side of the Franklin 
     Mountains that is north of Transmountain, west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and south of 
     the New Mexico/El Paso boundary. The City shall take all steps necessary to preserve all of this 
     land and to prevent it from being developed with either private development or major public 
     roadways.

Based on the total number of voters in the last city election (May 2013), a minimum of 2,310
signatures are required for the petition to be validated and taken up by City Council. Any person who is a registered voter in the City (not just the County) of El Paso may sign the petition. If City Council fails to pass the initiative as an ordinance, citizens may circulate and sign the same
petition and, if validated, that petition must be put on the ballot of the next city election for
approval by the voters of the City of El Paso, Texas.

Petitioners believe that preserving the land will alleviate the heavy tax burden placed on all
El Pasoans  because of sprawl.  Rather than paying for itself, unchecked sprawl increases city and school district expenses. Preserving land will also help El Paso conserve its most precious
resource: water. Preserving land will require El Paso to use smarter ways to develop - ways that will decrease our travel and energy expenses and improve our health and our neighborhoods.

The petition is available online at
http://elpasonaturally.blogspot.com/p/2013-initiative-petition.html.

If you would like to help El Paso become a healthier, happier place to live by gathering signatures, please contact Jim Tolbert at diegotolbert@gmail.com or 915-525-7364.